The Bucharest Metro () is an underground rapid transit system that serves Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It first opened for service on 16 November 1979. The network is run by Metrorex. One of two parts of the larger Bucharest public transport network, Metrorex had an annual ridership of 142,783,000 passengers during 2023, compared to over a billion annual passengers on Bucharest's STB transit system. In total, the Metrorex system is long and has 64 stations.
The Bucharest Metro has five lines (M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5). The newest metro line, M5, was opened in 2020. A sixth metro line, M6 line, is currently under construction.
As of 2024, Bucharest Metro is the only metro system in Romania; with a second one, the Cluj-Napoca Metro, being under construction.
Overview Bucharest Metro is part of the Bucharest public transport network which also includes STB, which operates a complex network of buses, trolleybuses, light rail and trams. STB is Bucharest's surface public network system, while Bucharest Metro operates underground (a short stretch between Dimitrie Leonida and Tudor Arghezi metro stations is the only portion of the Bucharest Metro that does not run underground). Until relatively recently, car ownership in Romania was not common: during the first part of the 20th century few people had cars, and the subsequent communist regime installed after World War II restricted personal car use. The public transportation system in Bucharest has its origin in the 19th century, with the city introducing horse-drawn trams in 1872.
History
The first proposals for a metro system in Bucharest were made in the early part of the 20th century, by the Romanian engineers Dimitrie Leonida and Elie Radu.
The earliest plans for a Bucharest Metro were drafted in the late 1930s, alongside the general plans for urban modernization of the city. The outbreak of World War II, followed by periods of political tensions culminating with the installation of communism, put an end to the plans.
By 1970, the public transport system (ITB) was no longer adequate due to the fast pace of urban development, although the system was the fourth-largest in Europe. A commission was set up, and its conclusion pointed to the necessity of an underground transit system that would become the Bucharest Metro. The plan for the first line was approved on 25 November 1974 as part of the next five-year plan and the construction on the new metro system started on 20 September 1975.
The network was not built in the same style as other Eastern European systems. Firstly, the design of the stations on the initial lines was simple, clean-cut modern, with most stations being relatively austere, without excessive additions such as mosaics, awkward lighting sources or elaborate and ornate decoration. The main function of the stations was speed of transit and practicality. Secondly, the trainsets themselves were all constructed in Romania and did not follow the Eastern European style of construction.Bucharest Metro at urbanrail.net Each station usually followed a colour theme (generally white – in Unirii 2 (Union 2), Victoriei 1 (Victory 1), Lujerului; but also light blue – in Obor, Universitate (University), and Gara de Nord (North Train Station); orange – in Tineretului (Of Youth Station); green – in Grozăvești), and an open plan. No station was made to look exactly like any other. Despite this, many stations are rather dark, due to the policies of energy economy in the late 1980s, with later modernisations doing little to fix this problem.
During the 1980s, the metro network expanded very rapidly, at a rate only surpassed by that of the Mexico City Metro. Two more lines were opened during this decade, M3 in 1983, and M2 in 1986. After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, the socioeconomic and political turmoil of the 1990s largely stagnated the expansion of the metro. Advancement of the construction was difficult; for example, the Gorjului metro station was built in two stages (1994 outbound platform and 1998 inbound platform), and as a consequence the two platforms and associated vestibules were built with different materials and with different colour schemes. The fourth metro line, M4, for which construction was started in September 1989 (shortly before the Revolution), was finally opened in 2000. After Romania joined the European Union in 2007, EU funds helped with the expansion of the metro. The M5 line was opened in 2020, and the M6 line is under construction.
Due to Bucharest being one of the largest cities in the region, the network is larger than those of Prague, Warsaw, Budapest or Sofia. Bucharest Metro is also larger than some other metro systems within the European Union, such as: Rome Metro, Copenhagen Metro, Helsinki Metro, Amsterdam Metro, Brussels Metro, and Lisbon Metro. In addition, there are plans to extend the existing lines and to open two more lines: M7 and M8. Bucharest Metro opened in 1979 (line M1), shortly after Brussels Metro (1976), Vienna U-Bahn (1976) and Amsterdam Metro (1977), and before Helsinki Metro (1982) or Copenhagen Metro (2002).
The first line, M1, opened on 19 November 1979, running from Semănătoarea (now Petrache Poenaru) to Timpuri Noi. It had a length of with 6 stations. Following this, more lines and several extensions were opened: 28 December 1981: M1 Timpuri Noi – Republica; , 6 stations 19 August 1983: M1 (now M3) Branch line Eroilor – Industriilor (now Preciziei); , 4 stations (Gorjului added later) 22 December 1984: M1 Semănătoarea (Petrache Poenaru) – Crângași; , 1 station 24 January 1986: M2 Piața Unirii (Union Square) – Depoul IMGB (now Berceni); , 6 stations (Tineretului and Constantin Brâncoveanu added later) 6 April 1986: M2 Tineretului; 1 infill station 24 October 1987: M2 Piața Unirii (Union Square) – Pipera; , 5 stations (Piața Romană = Roman Square, added later) 24 December 1987: M1 Crângași – Gara de Nord 1 (North Train Station 1); , 1 station (Basarab added later) 28 November 1988: M2 Piața Romană (Roman Square); 1 infill station 5 December 1988: M2 Constantin Brâncoveanu; 1 infill station 17 August 1989: M3 (now M1) Gara de Nord 1 (North Train Station 1) – Dristor 2; , 6 stations May 1991: M1 Republica – Pantelimon; , 1 station (single track, operational on a special schedule) 26 August 1992: M1 Basarab; 1 infill station 31 August 1994: M3 Gorjului; 1 infill station (westbound platform only; eastbound platform opened in 1998) 1 March 2000: M4 Gara de Nord 2 (North Train Station 2) – 1 Mai (First of May); , 4 stations 20 November 2008: M3 branch Nicolae (Nicolas) Grigorescu 2 – Linia de Centură (now Anghel Saligny), , 4 stations 1 July 2011: M4 1 Mai – Parc Bazilescu, , 2 stations 31 March 2017: M4 Parc Bazilescu – Străulești, , 2 stations 15 September 2020: M5 Râul Doamnei / Valea Ialomiței – Eroilor 2 , 10 stations 13 December 2022: M2 Tudor Arghezi, , 1 station 15 November 2023: M2 Berceni – Tudor Arghezi, 1,6 kilometers (1 mi.), 1 station
Expansions in the near future (estimative): 2027: M6 1 Mai (First of May) - Tokyo, , 6 stations 2028: M6 Tokyo - Otopeni Airport, , 6 stations 2030: M5 Eroilor 2 - Piața Iancului (Iancu's Square) 2, 5,4 kilometers (2 mi.), 6 stations
Lines M1 and M3 have been sharing the section between Eroilor and Nicolae Grigorescu.
Lines M5 have been sharing the section between Romancerilor.
Lines M4 and M6 have been sharing the section between Gara de Nord 2 and 1 Mai.
The newest metro station, Tudor Arghezi (M2), was opened on 15 November 2023. Between that date and 8 May 2024, all services to Tudor Arghezi ran in a shuttle service from Berceni, because the signalling and automatisation systems were not yet finished.
Large stations which connect with other lines, such as Piața Victoriei, have two terminals, and each terminal goes by a different name (Victoriei 1 and Victoriei 2). On the official network map, they are shown as two stations with a connection in between, even though, in fact – and for trip planners – they are a single station with platforms at different levels. There is one exception: Gara de Nord 1 and Gara de Nord 2 are separate stations (although linked through a subterranean passage, the traveller is required to exit the station proper and pay for a new fare at the other station, thus leaving the system), passengers being required to change trains at Basarab.
Generally, the underground stations feature large interiors. The largest one, Piata Unirii, is cathedral-like, with vast interior spaces, hosting retail outlets and fast-food restaurants and has an intricate network of underground corridors and passageways.
Metrorex
Metrorex is the Romanian company which runs the Bucharest Metro. It is fully owned by the Romanian Government through the Ministry of Transportation. There were plans to merge the underground and overground transportation systems into one authority subordinated to the City of Bucharest, however these plans did not come to fruition.
Infrastructure and network
As of 2023, the entire network runs underground, except for a stretch between Dimitrie Leonida and Tudor Arghezi stations on the southern end of the M2 line. All metro stations are underground, except two (Berceni and Tudor Arghezi, which are the former terminus and current terminus, respectively, of line M2). The network is served by six depots, two being located above ground (IMGB and Industriilor) and four underground (Ciurel, Străulești, Pantelimon and Valea Ialomiței) and smaller additional works at Gara de Nord 1, Eroilor 1, Republica, Parc Drumul Taberei, Favorit, Anghel Saligny, Crângași, Piața Victoriei 2 and Dristor 2 stations.
There are two connections between the Metro network and the Romanian Railways network, one at Berceni (connecting to the Bucharest Belt Ring), the other at Ciurel (connecting via an underground passage to the Cotroceni-Militari industrial railway). However, the latter connection is currently unused and mothballed. The metro network and the national rail network have almost similar track gauge (using the vs ) and loading gauge but not the same electrification system (the metro uses whereas the Romanian Railways use overhead lines) making it possible for new metro cars to be transported cross country as unpowered railway cars. This distinction is also seen in the pre-2007 separation between the MTR and the former KCR network in Hong Kong (see Track gauge in Hong Kong).
Lines There are five metro lines in operation and another one in the construction phase:
LineOpenedLastexpansionTrack lengthHeadwayoperationalunder constructionplannedoff-peakrush hour November1979August199231.01 km9–12 minutes (between Dristor 2 and Eroilor)(4 minutes between Eroilor and Nicolae Grigorescu)3–6 minutes(3–3.5 minutes between Eroilor and Nicolae Grigorescu) January1986November 202320.28 km3.0 km4–7 minutes (weekdays off peak hours)7–9 minutes (weekends, late nights)1–3 minutes August1983November200813.53 km7–9 minutes(4 minutes between Eroilor and Nicolae Grigorescu)3–6 minutes(3–3.5 minutes between Eroilor and Nicolae Grigorescu) March2000March20177.44 km10.6 km8–10 minutes7 minutes September20206.87 km9.2 km18 minutes (on each branch)9 minutes (between Eroilor and Romancierilor)12 minutes (on each branch)6 minutes (between Eroilor and Romancierilor) 2027–202814.2 kmcolspan=2 2030+13 kmcolspan=2 Total79.13 km14.2 km35.8 km
M1 Line: between Dristor and Pantelimon – the first line to open in 1979, last extension in 1990; it is circular with a North-Eastern spur. Part of its tracks are shared with M3 (7 stations). M2 Line: between Pipera and Tudor Arghezi. opened in 1986, last extension opened in November 2023; it runs in a north–south direction, crossing the center. M3 Line: between Preciziei and Anghel Saligny opened in 1983, last extension in 2008; it runs in an east–west direction, south of the center. Shares part of its tracks with M1 (7 stations).